


The First Arc, The Gathering

by halfbloodinlove



Series: The Arcs, Creepypasta [1]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Alex Kralie Being an Asshole, Alex Kralie Lives, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Murder, Based on a Creepypasta, Brother Feels, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Brutal Murder, Canon LGBTQ Character, Canonical Character Death, Child Death, Child Murder, Couch Cuddles, Creepypasta, Dead People, Death, Dysfunctional Family, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Everybody Lives, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Family Reunions, Family Secrets, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, For the most part, Gay Panic, Happy Murder Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Morning Cuddles, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks, Protective Older Brothers, Protective Siblings, Protectiveness, Proxies (Slender Man Mythos), Romance, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sister-Sister Relationship, Sleepy Cuddles, Slenderverse, Slow Romance, Soft Kisses, Teen Romance, Temporary Character Death, The Arcs AU | Creepypasta, Triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfbloodinlove/pseuds/halfbloodinlove
Summary: The Gathering: Slender finds and adopts the young pasta and takes them to come live at slender manor with his other proxies after the events of their snapping. They learn to live with each other and try to move on from their tragic pasts. Fluff and angst ensues.i know that's a sucky summary but please read it, also its creepypasta, that in its self is a warningTHIS FANFICTION IS SUBJECT TO MINOR CHANGES
Relationships: Brian Thomas | Hoody/Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky, Helen Otis | The Bloody Painter/Jonathan Blake | The Puppeteer, Hoody/Masky, Laughing Jack/Jason Meyer | Jason the Toymaker
Series: The Arcs, Creepypasta [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004874
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. A halfling's found

**Author's Note:**

> Intro: EJ, 11 years old  
> Already serving Proxies/beings  
> Puppeteer, 20 years old (dead, has served 1 year at this point)  
> Killing Kate, 19 (proxy, has served 1 year at this point)  
> Herobrine, appears mid 20's (Glitch Ghost, has served 4 years at this point)  
> Vine the Doll Maker, 15 (Proxy, has served 7 years at this point)  
> Kagekao, appears early 20's (Demon, has served 12 years at this point)  
> HoboHeart , appears early 20's, (Being, has served 15 years at this point)  
> Seedeater, Cryptid, has served 30+ years at this point  
> Candy Pop, appears in 20's, (Being/Demon, has served 30+ years at this point)  
> Candy Cane, appears late teens to early 20's. (Being/Demon, has served 30+ years at this point)  
> Grinny Cat, Cryptid, has served 30+ years at this point  
> Laughing Jack, appears early 20's, (Being, has served 30+ years at this point)  
> Laughing Jill, appears late teens, (Being, has served 30+ years at this point)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated 2/1/2021

Jack was lost, he was crying and covered in blood. He leaned against the base of a tree, trying to get a hold of his surroundings, the world was badly burled to the point he was blinded yet strangely…….he knew where everything was; the trees, the rocks, even sensing the birds hiding in their nests but what use was it when he couldn’t remember anything before waking up in the woods. His head hurt, and he could feel blood seeping from many places on his body along with a deep ache in his stomach, begging to be filled. 

Then he smelled it. 

Jack wasn’t sure what it was but it smelled tasty, his mind blanked as he sprung towards whatever smelled so good. When he came back to his senses, he was kneeling in front of a bloodied corpse, holding something squishy and could feel juices running down his chin; he was eating a human kidney. It tasted great so he kept eating but there was still a dull stabbing feeling, begging for him to feed more after he had already eaten the organs that seemed to be the most desirable. 

Tears followed steadily down his checks, why? Jack didn’t really know. Maybe because he still felt so hungry, maybe because he couldn’t remember anything, or maybe because he killed someone. 

The forest surrounding him was dark and silent, the only sound being his small crys mixed with the hollowing wind. Jack could almost feel the world being to shift as the blood loss was getting to his head. 

Jack wanted to give into sleep. From what he could tell, the sun was setting, it would get colder, and the darkness would fall over him, then who knows what would happen to him. With any luck, it would be painless….

Snap 

He looked around him, trying to find the source of the sound. The strange black tears didn’t help his sight whatsoever, but he couldn’t seem to wipe them away. There was another snap and Jack turned his head to come face to no face with a very tall, very faceless pale man. 

Jack debated what he should do but before he could come to a conclusion, the man held out his hand to offer him something. Concentrating very hard at the red things in his hand, Jack realized they were- 

“K-kidneys…” Jack wanted them so badly but he held himself back, he felt horrible for killing one person today, he was a monster.... 

“Their for you, here.” said the man, Jack was hesitant before taking the kidneys, biting into one hungerily. The man silently watched him finish eating before asking questions. 

“What is your name?” 

Jack used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe the dripping blood off his chin and some of the black tears which hadn’t stopped. “I’m… J-Jack, who are you?” 

“I’m Slender Man, you can call me Slendy or Slender.” Slender seemed to think for a second before asking “What is a halfling of your age doing alone in the forest? It could be dangerous, especially when you're injured.”

Jack sniffled a bit as he felt more tears pour down his face and drip onto his hoodie, “I- I- I dunno… I woke up here… I can’t-… I can’t remember anything from before….everything h-hurts...” He wasn’t sure why he was compelled to answer this stranger or what a halfling was but Jack was tired and the man seemed trustworthy. 

“Its not safe for you to be out here after dark.” Upon seeing the boy’s injuries and apparent amnesia, Slender had come to a decision. “Young Jack, would you care to stay with me at my manor and become one of my proxies? In return I can offer you protection and a place to stay.”

Jack took a second to think about the offer that was being presented and in all honesty, he didn’t have much of a choice. If he declined, he’d surely become prey to some sort of creature… well going with Slender was his best option if he wanted to live. 

Jack agreed. 

~~~

Slender observed the small child limping beside him as they walked, he was intrigued by young Jack, many questions surrounded him but asking was futile in view of the fact of his gapped memory. He wondered if Trender or Splendor knew anything about the lost boy, they were always in the circle for the underworld’s gossip; oh god, thinking of them made Slender realize how much Splendor was gonna have a field day with the newest addition to the manor. 

The longer they walked, the more fatigued Jack was becoming, his numerous injuries and mostly filled stomach made staying awake difficult. Slender could feel the boy’s aura weakening little by little, it hadn’t been strong to begin with but made the situation more concerning. Anyone with an ounce of demon heritage would have a higher stamina then normal humans would, regardless of age and by the looks of it, Jack was attacked by something or someone. 

The anticipation made Slender want to go back to where he found the young halfling and find out what happened but that would have to wait. His top priority was to get Jack taken to the manor

A sense of relief flooded Jack’s aura as the manor came in sight, the moon light making the dark exterior of the building stand out against the fog and tall trees along with the dim yellow glow from the mostly curtained windows. Slender could see both Trender and Splendor waiting on the front porch, seemingly knowing that something was up; the colorfulest of the brothers’ gaze was locked on the child. 

It had been a while since the arrival of Vine, the first child who had come to live with them, but he was 15 now and had been taken under Jason’s wing once he noticed the boy’s talent for dolls. Splendor adored children and often did watch Vine when he was younger but as he was getting older the times were becoming few and far between. Splendor made his way over to them and knelt down to the young halfling. 

“Hello, little one,” Splendor spoke softly, trying not to frighten the child, Jack shied away a bit, unknowingly gripping the end of Slender’s suit jacket. “My name’s Splendor, Splendy if you like, I’m Slender’s brother. Can you tell me your name?”

“I’m Jack,” The boy said, that same feeling of trust he had felt with Slender was also around Splendor as well, feeling the effects of it relaxed him and he let go over the jacket before all the extent of his injuries fully crashing in and he stumbled a bit. “I-… feel dizzy.” 

Splendor took a second to look him over, noting his injuries, “Alright, we’re gonna get you all patched up and taken care of, is it okay if I carry you inside?” He offered out his hand to Jack; who nodded, not wanting to walk any more than he had to. The tall being lifted him up as gently as he could, not minding the blood and mysterious tar like liquid dripping onto his polka dotted suit and floor, more concerned about how badly Jack was wounded.

Slender watched them head inside to go find Dr. Smiley, making a mental note to himself to be more prepared the next time he decides to adopt a random demon child he finds alone in the forest. Trender, who had been observing the encounter, walked over to Slender. “Where did you find him?”

“About half a mile away from the border.” Slender responded, thinking about what had just accouried; the boy was strange to begin with, he didn’t have any eyes and his sockets were dripping a thick substance, his rusty brownish red hair was highly uncommon in demons, even halflings. 

“What are we gonna do with him?” Trender asked, pushing up his necessary glasses back into place. “What about his parents?”

The thought made Slender feel sympathy for Jack, sighing. “He was out there for hours; any parent of whatever species wouldn’t have left their half demon breed son who hasn’t even gotten his fangs yet, alone in the forest for hours on end, injured or not.” 

“Maybe whatever attacked him has slaughtered his parents.” Suggested Trender, even though he already knew the chances of that happening and the beast not coming after the child as well was absurd. 

His brother turned to fully look at him. “I think he was left there to die.”


	2. Curious Teens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EJ's visit to Dr. Smiley

Jack clung onto Splendor’s suit tightly, he faintly aware of people watching as they passed by. There was a girl with red dyed hair tips and what looked like blood dripping from her eyes in her late teens and a boy close in age with gray skin and glowing golden eyes. The two of them were sprawled out on a coach near the back of the room.

They intimidated him, the way they had stopped what they were doing, quieting their voices and almost seemed to stare into Jack’s soul. He couldn’t see them very well and it was making his head hurt more from trying to get his vision to focus; Jack hide his face against Splendy’s shoulder, closing his eyelids for a moment. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. 

Splendor shifted his hold on the boy, rubbing his back to stir him back awake, “Hey, kiddo, I know you’re exhausted but we’re gonna bandage you up first then you sleep all you want.” he reassured, bouncing a bit as he walked to keep Jack from falling asleep just yet. The young halfling whined in response, nuzzling further into Splendy’s shoulder. 

Floorboards creaked beneath them in an eerie yet comfortable silence, Jack heard a door being opened and an extraordinarily bright light engulfed them which hurt his head. He closed his eyelids when he heard footsteps approaching, he was in a strange place and didn’t know what kind of people lived here, he was scared. 

“Who do we have here?” inquired the stranger, his voice was silvery and appealing to hear, Jack’s interest peaked, he lifted up his head a little bit and peered at the man. He’s blonde hair was darkened tips, the white long sleeve button up had blood splatters on the cuffs and collar as did the mask he wore with a sharp toothed grin printed on it. Deep red eyes met empty sockets before Jack hid back down again. 

“This is Jack, Slender found him a ways out in the woods.” Stated Splendor, rubbing the boy’s shoulder, he could tell Jack was anxious about the situation and rightfully so. “Jack, this is Dr. Smiley.” 

It took a bit of coaxing to get Jack to let go of Splendor and onto the makeshift bed as Dr. Smiley gathered up his supplies. He didn’t often work with children nor particularly like them but there were always a handful that exceeded his expectations. 

“What can you tell me about yourself, Jack?” the tall man asked kindly and motioned for him to take off the badly two toned blood stained zip up hoodie, he had a good feeling about this young halfling. 

Jack thought for a second before answering, “I like… kidneys...” 

Dr. Smiley nodded understandingly with a small smile behind his mask, he had previously been informed about Jack’s memory but if he could get this kid some medical books once he’s healed and catch his interest, they just might have another medic on their hands when he’s older. 

~~~ 

The process went fairly quick and Jack was finally able to rest for the night, he was out of his blood stained clothes and now wore comfortable pajamas. It had been decided for him to stay overnight in Dr. Smiley’s office where he could easily be monitored the next couple of hours; this was fine with Jack, he rather liked the man and as long as he got to sleep peacefully, everything was peachy. 

Dr. Smiley left the door cracked as he exited the office in the hallway, catching as two shadows rushed around a corner. “Alright you two, come on out, you’ve been caught.” he sighed as Kate and Puppeteer stepped out sheepishly. “And just what do you hope to accomplish by eavesdropping?” 

“Kate wanted to know what the deal was with the new kid.” Pup blurted before the girl could get a word in, she elbowed him hard in the rib and he glared daggers at her. 

“Don’t be stupid! You’re just as curious as I am, you dim-witted bastard!” Kate stated as loud as she could without waking anyone. Puppeteer was quick to defend himself as if that’d let them off the hook.

Dr. Smiley frowned behind his mask at the two’s bickering, raising a hand to silence them. “All your questions will be answered eventually but I swear to hell’s bells if either of you wake him with your pointless arguments, you’ll both be assigned extra chores and assignments for the next two weeks. Do I make myself clear?”

They nodded hurriedly, not wanting more work but still looked at him with their eyes wanting answers to questions. Dr. Smiley figured he’d give the two just enough information to keep them occupied till someone other than himself could explain. “His name’s Jack, he could be as young as ten to twelve years old, he was found near the border, now go away and leave me to my work.” 

Kate started to protest for more but the words never came out, not wanting to get on the adult’s bad side. She and Pup acknowledged him and stepped aside as the doctor walked by, once he was out of sight and earshot, their chatter picked back up. 

“Well that was a waste of time, all we got was threatened and practically nothing!” exclaimed Kate dramatically, Pup shushed her which earned him another glare. 

He rolled his eyes at her, “You’re never satisfied with anything, besides at least we got something and maybe the kid- Jack, doesn’t want others to know just yet. He looked pretty freaked out when Splendy brought him in.”

It was Kate’s turn to roll her eyes, sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with the ghost. “Whatever. Come on, Puppers, let’s get out of here before Smiley comes back and gives us those chores.” Pup followed behind Kate as they passed through the hallways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how am i doing on this fic? is it going good? lend me your thoughts please  
> Updated 2/1/2021


	3. New Friends

Trender had seen many proxies come and go through the years, all varying in size and species. Living in the underrealm, he had become used to the beings that lived there and was quite knowledgeable on the topic but what Slender had asked of him was near impossible. The chances of finding the contributor to Jack’s demon side was smaller than a baby tooth, they had a better chance of finding someone with a past psyche abilities but beings like that were few and far between. 

He sighed, looking away from his work for a second, normally Slender would handle this sort of stuff however the eldritch had mentioned something about two potential proxies and left the job to him. 

Trender could see Splendor and Jack in the room down the hall, the boy seemed content with all things considering while Grinny, the strange cat that roamed around the building, laid purring on his lap as Jack generously gave them pets. Dr Smiley’s concerns about his blurred vision were confirmed that morning when Jack awoke in complete darkness. They’d have to wait till Slender returned to see if there was a way to reverse or lessen it.

His attention was soon taken off them when Kagekao poked his head in, knocking on the door frame, “Everyone’s wondering about the new kid, and with Slender gone at the moment.” He looked at him pointedly.

Trender sighed in acknowledgment and began putting up the research, being the second eldest made him next in charge of the manor and its inhabitants. Which in term mainly meant doing the tasks that were of a minority where Slender couldn’t be bothered with them. He looked back at the boy one last time before heading downstairs, hoping this wasn’t a train wreck about to happen. 

He entered the living room to find that Jill and LJ had returned along with Jason and Vine. Kagekao looked to be scheming with an unsure HoboHeart; Kate stopped playing with Puppeteer’s hair and pushed him off the couch when she spotted him, the boy landed with an ow and glared daggers at her as undid his now tangled hair. Kagekao snickered at the two of them.

Trender rolled his nonexistent eyes, “Enough fooling around, I have other things to do than watch the lot of you flailing around like a bunch of three year olds. Now about the child.”

~~~

Jack could hear people talking as Grinny rub up against him, with the complete loss of his vision his other senses had escalated immensely. He had noticed this yesterday but didn’t have the time or energy to look into it. 

The voices downstairs got increasingly louder and Splendor had to leave to go break up what sounded like a fight that was getting out of hand. So now he was alone again, sort of, just him and a demonic cat. The thought made him nervous for obvious reasons, the calm atmosphere had gone along with Splendor out the door. Jack’s thoughts drifted in the silence. 

Creeeeeaaaaakkk 

Jack’s attention snapped towards where the sound came from, something else was in the room with him. He felt his heart rate pick up and his body tensed as the being crept further into the room. Not knowing what else to do, Jack yanked the blankets over his head and curled up as tight as he could, hoping whatever it was would go away. He had closed his eyelids tightly fully knowing it didn’t change the status of his vision but it helped.

He stayed like that for what felt like hours, the being stopped when it was right next to him and Jack could hear its ragged breathing. What did it want from him? He lightly flinched when what felt like a clawed hand landed on his shoulder, neither of them moved for a second. Surely the creature could feel his terrified shaking, it was like a tremor was going through his body. 

‘So this is how I die?’ thought Jack, with only a day’s worth of memories at the hands of an unseen being. But he was saved for a reason, wasn’t he? Where was Splendor? Or Dr. Smiley? Grinny? Anyone?

The creature began moving again, it was now standing besides the bed right next and strangely, instead of killing him like Jack thought it would, it began petting him?

Confused nonetheless, Jack’s body slowly untensed as the being continued to caress him, mindful of Jack’s injuries. After a few minutes the young boy shifted around to get the blankets off, the creature waited patiently till Jack was now facing it. He wanted to know what it was but a shiver of fear still ran its course. It gently grabbed Jack’s wrist and brought it up to his head, what felt like a stitched animal skull. Hands wandered from the creature’s head to the matted fur on its shoulders, it was so soft! 

A small smile crept onto Jack’s face as he tried to get a feel of what the creature looked like. Everything in the background seemed to fade as a calmness settled around them, Jack didn’t seem to notice anything else as he began talking to the creature who in turn responded with soft chirps. 

“Do you have a name?” Asked Jack curiously, it’d be nice to have something to call it other than the creature. It took Jack’s hand and maneuvered it to where he was now pointing, now tracing out letters on the bed sheets. 

S-E-E-D-E-A-T-E-R. 

“Seedeater?” He cocked his head to the side a little, the creature-Seedeater put the boy’s hand on his head and nodded. “Can I call you Seedy?”

It nodded again.

Grining, Jack started his rambling again, his new found friend was a great listener. This carried on till footsteps had been heard coming towards them. Jack instinctively turned his head towards the door as it opened.

“Ah, I see you’ve met Seedeater,” It was Dr. Smiley. Jack let out a silent sigh of relief and nodded, he wasn;t ready for more new people just yet. The sound of drawers opening and closing filled the room as the older man gathered supplies to change Jack’s bandages, some of which were blood soaked. 

“W-what was all the noise downstairs?” Questioned Jack a bit nervously.

Dr. Smiley chuckled quietly, “Seems your arrival caused a bit of a stir between some of the tenants.” 

Jack lowered his head a little, “ ‘m sorry..”

“Nonsense, you’ve done nothing wrong, dear child,” Reassured Dr. Smiley, motioning for Seedy to move out of the way so he could re-wrap Jack’s injuries. “Its well known that some of the proxies are trouble makers and attention seekers, one in particular.” 

Jack stayed quiet for the most part, only really speaking when a question was asked of him. Dr. Smiley explained that when he was all healed he’d be sharing a room with two proxies called Puppeteer and Kagekao, they’d watch over him for the time being. He was to stay in the manor for the time being while he learned his way around, while the chances of his vision returning were still on the ropes, they wanted to get Jack acquainted with the proxies. 

“Seeing as how Seedeater has attached himself to you, would you care to let him help you around?” Inquired the man. 

“Yeah,” agreed Jack, eager to explore around. 

“Very well then.”


	4. Jack can't read

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ THIS! I HAVE UPDATED THE CHAPTERS AND YOU SOULD PROBS RE READ THEM REAL QUICK  
> or don't i don't control your life

Jack was released from the med bay the next day, he wasted no time commencing his exploration of the manor. Seedy walked alongside him, making sure he didn’t run into anything. Since he couldn’t see anything and this was his first time walking around, it was a wonder that he managed to walk into a library, he could smell the hundreds of books lining the walls. He couldn’t help but be a little sad, Jack liked stories and books were chalked full for them with all different kinds. The only problem being Jack was blind. 

Curiosity getting the best of him, Jack walked towards a shelf and plucked off a random book. It didn’t really matter what it was about, the smell was what counted and Jack couldn’t see anyway. Opening and flipping through the pages made a cloud of dust puff up at him and Jack sneezed. Seedy nudged Jack about something but he was too intrigued in the book. He loved everything about it, the feel, the smell, the-

“You like books, kid?” 

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin, slamming the book closed as he turned towards the other person in the room. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the person laughed lightly, “I’m Kagekao, and you’re Jack, right?”

Jack nodded, subconsciously moving closer to Seedy, this was one of the proxies he was gonna be sharing a room with. He couldn’t be too bad…. Right?

“Might be a dumb question and stop me if this is rude but why are you in a library if you’re blind?” Asked Kagekao. 

Jack felt his face heat up, “I-I wondered in here, the books smell nice.”

~~~

Kagekao looked at the preteen standing a little ways from him. He was a cute kid, with his demon/elf-ish appearance and his timidness the older demon had quickly come to the conclusion that he liked this kid and that he was far too precious for the world. 

Kagekao had originally sought out Jack on Dr. Smiley’s orders to befriend him or at least keep him out of trouble but looking down at him now, he’d take a hit for this small child and not regret it. “I’m guessing you like stories?”

Jack nodded again. 

Then it was settled in his mind, “I could read to you if you’d like.”

Seedeater gave him a sideways glance, Kagekao brushed it off. Jack took a moment to decide and he could almost see the gears turning in his head. The boy eventually agrees and Kagekao leads him to a part of the library with a couch, grabbing an old leather bound book off a nearby shelf. Once the two were settled, the latter began reading aloud. Seedy laid his head on Jack’s lap who was listening intently. 

It was nice.


	5. The Past Isn't Cute But The Product Of It Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They decide to keep Jack and raise him on their side, and Kagekao info dumps to Pup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah its a shitty title name

The door to Trender’s office opened for what felt like the 30th time today. Expecting to see one of the proxies, Trender turned to tell them off for entering without knocking only to be met with Dr. Smiley. 

“Expecting someone?” the man asked, closing the door behind him. 

“Not at this hour,” Trender sighed, turning back towards the desk, “I thought you were Kate or Puppeteer.” 

The doctor smirked, “Sorry to disappoint.” 

“Honestly I’m glad though, those two have been acting up as of recently and it wouldn’t surprise me if they had decided to barge in here for the uptenth time.” Trender spoke as he wrote something down on a notepad before turning his attention back to the blonde. 

“Their behavior might have something to do with Jack, speaking of which have you come across anything yet?” continued Dr. Smiley, his gaze shifting over the paper on the elderich’s desk. 

“Practically nothing, no one in the underrelams knows anything about a missing demon child, nor could I find out what demon he is without going to you know who,” Trender said, sifting through his notes. “What about you?” 

“Based on his injuries, whatever happened was quite the ordeal. He suffered blunt force trauma resulting in his memory loss, by the looks of it his eye had been forcefully taken from him and the skin around his sockets proves this theory. The rest is scrapes, cuts and bruises.” Dr. Smiley stated dismally.

While Trender knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, it didn’t make it any less difficult to hear all that happened to a child no older than 12. Sighing, he looked around before his line of sight was back on the man. “What do you suggest?” 

“Honestly at this point, we’re the only allies he has if we so choose and the best thing to do would be to raise and train him like we did with Vine.” Said Dr. Smiley. 

Trender nodded, “I shall inform Slender when he returns.”

~~~

To say Puppeteer’s soul left his body when his roommate dropped from the ceiling was an understatement and while that was physically impossible, it still felt like it. His surprised yelp was muffled from Kagekao quickly slapping a hand over his mouth.

“Shhh! You’ll wake the kid!” Kagekao whisper-yelled, nodding over towards the bottom bunk where Jack was curled up fast asleep with Seedeater. 

Normally Pup didn’t like the animals being in their room but he’d make an exception for now. “Sorry, but you scared the crap outta me!” Pup resorted, pushing past the demon and into the room, Kagekao followed behind. 

“In my defense, I’ve been waiting for you to return,” He said, flopping down on Pup’s single bed, throwing his mask and scarf onto his side of the floor. “What took you so long anyways?” 

“Playing with my food you might say, ‘cept I don’t eat my victims. What’d you do all day? Find anything to cure your boredom?”

“Yeah, I did actually.” Kagekao grinned as he sat up, Puppeteer could tell from the face he was making that he was gonna tell him all about and wouldn’t let him get another word until he had finished telling his tale. “That bloody doctor told me to make sure that the new kid stayed out of trouble and that I had to do it because I was the closest and an available demon around at the time. I found him in the library smelling the books and we got to talking about them and guess what! It turns out he has the same taste in books as I do!” 

Pup listened as he grabbed his pajamas from where they had lodged themselves between the bed and the wall, he could tell that Seedeater wasn’t the only one to have already formed attachments. “Well it sounds like you two had loads of fun.” 

“Yeah we did! You’re gonna love him, Pup.” the shorter predicted as he walked up the wall and landed on the top bunk, burrowing under the covers. “Trust me on this one.”

“We’ll see, g’night, Kage.” 

“Night, Puppers.” 

Puppeteer stared up at the ceiling as he heard soft snores coming from the other side of the room, letting him know that he was the only one awake now. He knew deep down that he’d get along with Jack, he grew up with 4 other siblings and half the time he was the one raising them when their parents had work, not to mention he trusted Kagekao’s judgement. 

But its different, isn’t it? Pup turned to face the beds, Jack looked to be a sweet kid and he was pretty young all things considered with demons, even if he is only half demon. 

It was just- 

‘No, don’t think like that, Jonathan, everything will be fine, besides he's just a little kid,’ he thought to himself, trying to keep the negativity away. Even though he had become a murderous poltergeist as of last year didn’t mean the intrusive thoughts had stopped, the thoughts that played a part in his rather recent suicide. Pulling the pillow over his head, Pup hoped tomorrow went smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE give me feed back, please?


	6. Watching And Searching

Slender had a lot on his mind, for months now he had been eyeing four potential proxies from afar, one of which had not taken lightly to the infirmity very well, going as far as attacking the other three and it was just a mess. 

He had to wait till the illness had gone into full effect over them before he could intervene and collect, until then they were on their own and the eldritch hoped they didn’t kill each other before the end of it. 

Then came the appearance of young Jack, Slender hadn’t expected to find any sort of children in his side of the under realm much less one that seemed to have come out of nowhere. He had his suspicions that Jack had come from the human realm, he was only *half* demon and that alone would have granted him access to the forest. 

What bothered Slender most was the boy’s memory, it’d take a lot from a human to cause a demon to lose their memories due to just blunt force trauma but after discussions with Dr. Smiley and Trender, they couldn’t concern themselves with that and needed to focus on training the boy. It was honestly a relief that he ended up on their side instead of Zalgo’s, especially since he's a demon, most of which tending to lean towards that end of the realm. 

Turning his attention back towards the potential proxies, watching as their paranoia was eating away at them and their wires were running teases between them and the failed attempt. The eldritch knew he needed to do something about him before he ends up killing one or more of the three. 

~~~

Jack was awake before anyone else was, Seedy was sleeping on the floor, and Puppeteer and Kagekao were passed out from last night’s kill. His senses told him it was really late or really early, hoping it was the latter Jack grabbed his hoodie and slipped out of the room. Feeling his stomach growl sped up his endeavors of retrieving a kidney. 

He had gotten relatively acquainted with the layout of the manor along with some of the others who lived there as well but if he could get to the kitchen without tripping and waking anyone up, he’d consider this a win. 

Holding onto the side of the wall, Jack navigated his way downstairs. He tried to keep the black liquid dripping from his eye sockets off the floor but he could never really tell for sure. Sometime during the past week Dr. Smiley had told him it was a mix of blood and tar though he didn’t say how it came to be, Jack overheard him tell Trender it was probably from the event that had taken his eyes. Jack often wondered what happened to him, every time he tried to remember, a literal blinding pain shot through his head seemed to stop him. 

Getting lost in his thoughts, he had also lost his way and was now unsure of where in the manor he was in. The area was big with no distinctive smells or sounds, it was a dark, endless void and he was stuck in it. 

No no no no no no! Can’t panic now… You’re fine! You’re fine you’re fine you’re fi-

His mumbling was cut off as he accidentally ran into someone with a scent he didn’t recognize. Oh shit.

Jack quickly back tracked the other way, feeling his breathing and heartbeat pick up increasing near hyperventilating.

“Hey, its okay!” the person called out softly to him, they sounded female. “You’re okay, Jack, no harm done. Are you lost?”

How did they- she? Know his name? Jack nodded shyly, nothing about her sent off alarm bells in his senses but he was still a bit uneasy. 

“I’m Jill, I can take you where you were heading if you’d like.” She offered kindly, extending her hand to him. Jack inched closer timidly, he noticed Jill’s scent was sweeter now, like candy and icing unlike the sour one that was there before. Jack accepted her offer, taking her hand. 

A warm smile appeared on Jill’s face. “Where are we off to this fine hour?” she asked delightfully, internally pleased she had gotten the boy to trust him. 

“The kitchen,” replied Jack and she led the way, lightly swinging their arms as they walked, “By the way, what time is it?”

Unsure how Jill knew, she must have a watch or saw a nearby clock. “Its almost 5 AM, a reasonable time to be awake.” 

Okay, so he wouldn’t get into trouble for walking around at an odd hour, hopefully. When they rounded a corner and entered the kitchen, the specific smell of dish soap and the assorted fruits that were held in a bowl on the counter. Jack let go of Jill’s hand, eager to get his original goal; a kidney.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos help me write faster, i hope you enjoy!


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